Embrace | آغوش

-Unedited:

Zidi hun magar jo wo pukaray tou,

Jan hazir, Anaa bhool jaun, gharoor war dun.

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Zohaib was sitting on the bench at the shoreline of the lake. He starred at the calm water in front of him.

"That's the favorite spot of your mummy, Zahra", He said. "We used to stare at the water, eat samosas and speak our heart out".

He moved his gaze across the lake view park. It was crowded than usual due to eid. Kids were enjoying along with their parents, which made him realize how lonely he and Zahra seemed compared to others. The clouds thundered. He gazed at the sky.

Barishon k mosum mein, tum ko yaad krne ki.

Adatein purani hain....

Ab ki bar socha tha, adatein badul dalen.

Phi khayal atha hai. Adatein badalnay say,

Barishen nahi rukhti.....

He picked up a samosa and took a bite with a heavy heart.

"Mmm these samosas are heaven, its taste is unbeatable", Ayza's words echoed in his mind.

"I can feel your presence Ayza, I'll always do", he whispered.

A series of memories played in front of his eyes like a movie. From their childhood friendship days to falling in love, courtship, marriage and then suddenly his mother's words rang into his mind "Zahra needs a mother Zohaib"...."You have to marry her Zohaib", Faryal's face flashed in front of him and he snapped out of his thoughts. He fetched a deep breath.

"Let's go home Zahra before it starts raining. Your Ammi will be waiting for us.", He picked up Zahra in his hands and went outside of the park towards the parking area. He was about to sit in the car when his eyes fell on a flower shop.

"Phool lay letha hun uske leye takay un murjaye hovay phoolon ki jaan choray wo (I'll buy flowers for her so she will throw away those withered flowers", he thought.

He bought a purple orchid bouquet for her and went home.

"Um..miii", Zahra said to him again as he entered the house.

"We have reached Zahra", he tried to convince her.

"By the way Zahra, saying daddy is not that hard beta", he groaned. "I'll make you learn it, very soon In'Sha'Allah".

"Zohaib sahb", Nadia baji called his name worriedly.

"What happened Nadia baji? Are you okay?", He asked in concern.

"Faryal bibi came home and I don't know why but she was crying so much. Please check on her",

"What?", his eyes shoot open, and climbed the stairs hurriedly.

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"Please open the door", Uzair pleaded.

"Bhai I'm so scared for her", Mahum said. Tears were continuously rolling down her cheeks.

"Faryal please open the door", Uzair said again.

"Where is Faryal?", Zohaib asked as he literally ran into the room. He threw the bouquet on the bed.

"She has locked herself in the washroom", Uzair said.

"Why?", Zohaib asked.

"From the last 15 minutes, she has locked up herself in the washroom. We were gone outside and a man..a man harassed....", before Mahum could complete her sentence Zohaib handed her Zahra. He went towards the closet, searched the drawer, and finally picked up the keys in his hands.

"It's been 15 minutes....YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BREAK THE DAMN DOOR UZAIR", he shouted. "Who will be responsible if something happened to her in the washroom".

He hurriedly inserted the key into the lock and turned it. The lock opened. He moved back and signaled Mahum to open the door and look inside. Mahum turned the doorknob and froze.

"You can go inside", she said.

Zohaib pushed the door open and it felt like the air was knocked out of his lungs.

Faryal was sitting on the floor under the shower, totally drenched. Zohaib ran inside. He quickly turned off the shower and crouched down to her level. She was terribly shivering and constantly rubbing her wrists oblivious to his presence.

"Faryal", He called her name.

"Leave me. Please, leave me", she cried and closed her eyes in fear.

"Faryal, it's me Zohaib. Look", he said like he was convincing a child. He held her both hands in his hands to stop her. She opened her eyes.

"Zohaibbb", she wailed. Her heartbreak was in her voice, and he squeezed her closer to him. Her painful cries were reverberating in the washroom.

"I'm here", he tried to soothe her and kept rubbing her back.

"Hey! it's okay Faryal", he said again but she kept sobbing loudly.

Mahum and Uzair were looking at them.

"Mahum let's go, he will handle her", Uzair wrapped his hand around Mahum. Mahum nodded and they both went away.

Zohaib picked up Faryal in a bridal style and placed her on the bed. Faryal was holding him so tightly like her life was dependent on him.

"Please stop crying yaar", he hugged her.

"I'm. sc..ared", She said in between her cries.

"I won't let anything happen to you",

She suddenly stopped crying, moved back from his embrace, and looked him into his eyes.

"Zohaib what if (hicup)..Uzair didn't come in time?", A sob constricted her throat, cutting off the words she couldn't bring herself to say anyway.

"What would have (hicup) happened to (hicup)...", A loud sob tore from her throat. Zohaib took her face in his hands. "Please don't think about it. Just remember you are safe. Nothing happened to you and won't happen to you in the future", he kissed her forehead.

"I feel disgusted and filthy with myself", she said.

"You are pure inside out", he replied.

"He touched me", she snuffled and showed him her wrist. "I washed and rubbed it so much but his disgusting touch is not going away".

Zohaib looked at her wrists. Due to rubbing they were scratched and had small cuts from which blood was peeking out. A pang of pain crept into his heart.

He took her both hands in his hands and placed kisses on her wrists.

"You won't feel it now, there will be only my touch", he plucked the hair behind her ear. He wanted to bandage her hand but before that calming her was more important.

"And...he forcefully took my pendant too", tears started falling down her cheeks again blurring her vision. "I..", she coughed.

"I'll buy you another one, don't worry".

"You gifted it to me and I couldn't take care of it. I pleaded him (sniffs) so much, to leave it. Even I offered him money but he didn't".

Zohaib glanced at her neck. He slightly pushed away her neckline and realized there were deeper cuts around her neck due to forcefully pulling the pendant, his blood boiled.

"Maar dalun ga mein usko (I'll kill him)", He seethed in anger.

"You know everyone is smart, beautiful, and strong", she paused and started crying. "And me, I'll always be timid, ugly and weak. I am scared of everything. Hights, deep water, animals, you name it and I'll start screaming. You were right I'm a cry baby".

She placed her head on his shoulder, put her arms around his neck and he wrapped his hands around her.

"Who said you are ugly, timid, and weak?", he frowned.

"You are not these things. Remember once you asked me why did I give you the butterfly pendant. Let me tell you the reason which I wasn't going to tell you ever". he mumbled the last part.

"Butterflies are beautiful and delicate yet they represent endurance, change, hope, and life. They can't see how beautiful they are but they bring color to wherever they go. The growth makes it strong, optimism makes it beautiful and you know its perseverance makes it courageous. And that's how you are Faryal".

She turned her head slightly on his shoulder and looked up. He looked into her eyes. They were red. Her hazel eyes were twinkling with the pool of tears like a waterfall whenever she blinked. Her red nose made her look cute and innocent.

"And you are beautiful..very beautiful. Someone would be blind to deny it", he said.

"Do you think so?", she asked.

"Of course", he replied honestly.

"If somebody touches you break their hands. if someone looks at you which makes you uncomfortable Ankhein noch dalo uski (Scratch his eyes). After that I'll take care of the rest", he heaved a sigh. "You need to understand I won't let anything happen to you. Okay?".

"Ji (yes)", she whispered.

"Say loudly, I didn't hear it properly", he demanded.

"Jiii (Yesss)", she stated.

"Good",

Both of them silently stayed in this position for a few minutes. Thankfully, she wasn't crying anymore.

"Faryal",

"Hmmm",

"You need to change",

"Don't leave me please", she shook her head violently.

"The weather is bit a chilly today, you will catch a cold".

"No", she said tightening her hold on him.

"You don't have to lock the door. Just close it and I'll be waiting for you outside. I need to treat your wounds as well", he stated.

"Where is Zahra?", she asked.

"She is with Mahum. Get changed first because you know Zahra would not like seeing her "Mii" crying". He loosened his grip around her, she moved back.

"I ruined your shirt", she whispered grazing her hand over his wet shirt. "and the bed sheet too".

"Doesn't matter", he replied softly.

He placed a kiss on her forehead and stood up. He opened the closet, glanced at her clothes, and realized there were only her summer dresses. He thought for a few seconds, shifted his gaze towards his clothes, and picked up his sweatshirt and loose pants.

"You can wear this it would keep you warm", he grabbed her hand and took her towards the washroom." I'm here okay".

She nodded and went inside the washroom. He took a clean bed sheet and made the bed. Faryal came out of the bathroom wearing his clothes, and a towel draped around her shoulder under her wet hair. He made her sit on the bed, sat in front of her, and opened the first add box.

He applied the antiseptic on her wrist but unexpectedly she didn't give a reaction. She was quietly looking at her hand.

"By the way you have cheated, I know you purposely taught Zahra your name first. Or maybe you have forced my poor child to do so. Who knows", he murmured playfully near her ear.

"Dil ke behlane ko Ghalib yeh khayal acha hai ( The idea is good to keep your heart/self happy)", she smiled. "I told you my baby loves me more, but you were not accepting it. Now see it".

He smiled. He wanted to get a similar response from her. He bandaged her one wrist and then took her other hand in his hand. She looked around and her eyes fell on the bouquet on the bed.

"Who's flower are these?", she asked.

"I went on date, did you forget?", he said while his concentration was on her wrist. She studied his features, he seemed serious. Her heart sank at his words, she pulled back her hand from his hold. He stopped and glanced in her direction. His lips twitched up into an amused smile.

"We went on a father-daughter date and bought flowers for you, simple", he grabbed her hand again. "Ab un ujhrahay hovay phooln ki jan chorh dena mehrbani kar k (Now please throw away those withered flowers)", he dramatically pressed his hands together and bowed slightly. She laughed.

"Zohaib", she looked at him.

"Hmm",

"I didn't do this",

"Do what?", he frowned and looked into her eyes. She signaled him towards her henna filled hand and he understood.

"I wasn't aware that mahum had told them to do it", she justified. "I didn't want to offend you".

"It's okay", he replied. He applied an ointment on her neck. He drew a dose into the syringe.

"The TT injection is necessary for you", He pulled her sleeve up. She looked at him wide-eyed. He understood she was afraid. He took her other hand and placed it on his thigh and said " If it hurts, you can squeeze my thigh. It will help you overcome the pain and fear okay?" he said, maintaining eye contact with her. she nodded.

After applying the injection he picked up another towel and dried her hair despite her protesting. He understood that she was physically and emotionally drained today so that's the least he could do for her.

"Can you please give me my dupatta from the closet?",

"Sure", He took a dupatta from her closet and handed her. She covered her head with the dupatta and laid down on the bed.

"I'll change my shirt", he said. "Umm don't worry I'm not going anywhere".

She nodded. He went towards the closet took off his shirt, and searched for another one. She turned her head, her eyes fell on his sculpted back and she froze. She had never seen so much skin before and the way his muscles were flexing and relaxing was captivating.

Knock!..Knock!

He suddenly turned around, pulling his shirt on. She quickly turned her head back, closed her eyes, and murmured "Astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness in God), Allah Miyan what was I doing".

He strode towards the door and opened it. Zain, Usman, and Huzaifa with Zahra in his hands were standing at the door.

"How is Faryal bhabhi?", Zain asked peeking inside the room.

"She is fine now", Zohaib opened the door for them. They came inside.

"Are you okay?", Zain asked worriedly. Faryal sat down.

Huzaifa placed his hand on Faryal's head.

"Yeah, don't worry", Faryal said. She took Zahra from Huzaifa.

Usman heaved a sigh in relief "We got worried when Uzair bhai called us".

"Faryal I'm sorry that you had to go through it alone, forgive us", Huzaifa said.

"It wasn't your fault Huzaifa", she replied. Huzaifa bend down and placed a kiss on her head.

"Mii", Zahra said.

"Where was my baby?", Faryal kissed her button nose.

"Aaa, " gesturing her hand to some nonspecific place and looking into Ammi's eyes.

"Woah, that's great", Faryal smiled.

"You guys give her company, I've somethings to take care of.", Zohaib said to them, turned his gaze towards Faryal, and said, "I'll be back soon".

She nodded.

"I'll accompany you", Huzaifa said to Zohaib. "Zain and Usman you both stay here until one of us comes back".

They both left the room.

"We need to go to the police station," Zohaib said to Huzaifa.

"You are right.", Huzaifa agreed and they entered Uzair's room without knocking. Uzair was talking to someone on the phone.

"No Ma'am that's not possible", Uzair said. "I've provided you the details already. She is not in a state to discuss",

"Thank you", he said and dropped the call.

Uzair threw his phone on the bed, looked at Zohaib and Huzaifa.

"We came here to ask you to accompany us to the police station but it seems like you have already taken care of it", Huzaifa said.

"Yeah", Uzair nodded. "I just came back. I've registered an FIR and provided them the details.

They were asking for the victim's verdict which I don't think so is possible right now." he said rubbing his forehead and sat down on the bed.

"Yup keep her out of it. She is already been through a lot", Zohaib said.

"The ASP knew Zohaib. She was your junior or something, I requested her to take urgent actions. They have the CCTV footage and...", Uzair stopped as they heard the knock at the door. Huzaifa opened the door, Saleem bhai was standing there.

"Someone has come on the main gate and asking for a family member", Saleem Bhai said. Huzaifa looked back to them and said "I'll see that" and went away with Saleem Bhai.

Zohiab sat down on the chair beside the bed and starred at the wall in front of him.

"I'm sorry Zohaib I couldn't d..",

"You love her", Zohaib stated cutting Uzair's words. Uzair inhaled sharply.

Zohaib turned his head towards him and said "Faryal is the girl you fell in love with when you were in London".

Uzair fetched an audible deep breath and nodded his head.

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Assalam u Alikum/Namaste, ❤

I hope you're having a day.

How was today's update?

What do you think about how Zohaib and Uzair are going to deal with the situation? I have planned how I want to proceed with the situation but really want to know about your assumptions.

P.S: Catastrophic situation in India due to the spread of COVID-19 is heart-wrenching. May Allah help our neighbours to recover from this soon. Humanity above all. Sending love and prayers.❤